Heidi's Highlights

Basketball Maui

I know that a lot of people scoff at how often I go to Hawaii for Recruiting and ministry. I would too if I were them, but I have to say that God is truly using Crossover in Hawaii in ways that astound us!

Last year, we were invited to join Basketball Maui and NBC camps to run a 5 day camp on the island of Maui. (Basketball Maui is a non-profit basketball ministry of Hope Chapel, Kihei.) We decided that we would invite all of our alumni to join us and 14 of them came! We helped facilitate a 5 day camp for 270 kids in two different cities on Maui using 5 different gyms. It was an incredibly crazy week, but it was amazing to see the kids and community respond. Several NBA players came out for a "Night of Shooting Stars" charity exhibition game. Several of our alumni were allowed to play in the game as well. The week and the surrounding events provided dreams come true for many people. We were thrilled to be part of the ministry with Basketball Maui and Hope Chapel.

As a bonus, Hope Chapel provided with us with housing so that we could stay a few extra days following the camp to enjoy the Island. We used this time as an Alumni Retreat. We had a blast re-connecting with past tour participants, worshipping together, and seeing the sights on the Island.

Here are a few pictures from our adventures:

Leadership Boot Camp

Every year, we have a weekend before tour where we have all of our tour leaders come to Denver for a training weekend. We go over logistics, rosters and do a lot of bonding so that we are all on the same page when we get to training camp with the players.

This year, we had 6 leaders and coincidentally, we all live in Denver! We did a day camp at a local Juvenile Corrections facility to model what a day of camp overseas would look like. It was cool to hang out with the kids and get to know them a little bit. We have received letters from a couple of them, and hope to go back to do more camps in the near future.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and we are excited to see how God uses these leaders on the trips this summer!

L-R: Zo Azubuike, Heather Anthony, Troy Cohen, Kirby Beneventi, Me and Susan Beardslee.

Leadership Boot Camp

This past weekend, we held our annual Leadership Boot Camp for the summer tour leaders. We had 6 people attending and did everything from discussing rules, tour members and protocol, to laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. We have a great group of leaders this year and we are really excited for the summer tours to come!!

One of the things that we do on this Leadership Boot Camp is a day camp at a local Juvenile Correctional Facility. This was our 3rd year and they invited us to stay for the entire day! We did camp like we would overseas and got to eat lunch with the kids and share the gospel. It was an amazing time for our leaders to serve, learn how to do a Crossover camp, but also make an eternal impact on the lives of kids who are caught up in gang lifestyles and other crimes. When we left, they asked us if we would consider coming more frequently!!! How exciting!!! :-)

NCCAA Tournaments

Our recruiting season is from September through April each year!!! Every March, we travel to Indiana to advertise and recruit at the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) Tournaments. This year, I went to the Women's Tourney and Troy took Amber to the Men's Tourney.

We spent the weekend talking with possible recruits, coaches, chaplains and parents about our summer tours. We met with a lot of people who are interested in Crossover trips!

I had a blast staying with my Aunt and Uncle in Ft. Wayne, In. They came with me to a few games and that gave me time with my cousin, Victoria!

God is moving and we are really excited about who He will bring to us through these recruiting trips!

Hilo and Honolulu

People often tease me about how often I travel to Hawai'i, but I can honestly say that God is opening doors of ministry for us on the Islands!

After Manila, we traveled to Hilo, Hawaii (that's on the Big Island for those of you who don't know). One of our alumni lives there and is a trainer for the University of Hawaii -Hilo. We did a little site seeing, and then went to a game to scout. We were able to talk to a total of 5 players who are believers and are interested in coming on the tours this summer. Troy got a sinus infection from the "Vog" (Volcano Pollution). Poor Guy!

The Volcano Glow at night.

Some of the coastline near Hilo. We took a drive one morning and it was beautiful!!

Akaka Falls on the Big Island

We went from Hilo to Honolulu to visit Shane ('09 and '10 Alumnus) and Rachel ('08 Alumni). Shane plays for Chaminade University and we got to see two of his games. We also went to the UH vs. New Mexico State game over the weekend.

Sunset in Honolulu from the 31st floor.

Troy and I with Shane and Kayla after a game.

One of the more exciting events was meeting with Rachel at the program where she is one of the top teachers. Kids are court-ordered to attend her program and the facility is in the middle of 3 major housing projects in Honolulu. She has a variety of students with various charges against them. The facility that she works for helps these kids in a number of areas from education to developmental activities. Her program is non-profit, so they have asked Crossover to come do a camp in the inner-city of Honolulu!!! This is such an exciting opportunity because when you get off the beach and out into the neighborhoods of Honolulu, you quickly realize that Hawaii is one of our neediest states in many ways.

Rachel on the grounds of her work complex.

The gym at Rachel's work

We also met with a girl that Rachel knows who is very interested in going on tour this summer. All in all, Hawaii was one of our more productive portions of the trip and we are excited for the opportunities we have there in the future!

Philippines

When we left China, we had to spend the night in the Guangzhou (Gwong-Joe) airport. We were offered a hotel, but we were nervous about getting back to the airport in time the next morning, and we weren’t sure we trusted the Chinese 3 star rating on the hotel, so we decided to sleep in the airport. It was not the most pleasant night of the trip

!!! Not only did we have to sleep on airport benches, dodging fixed armrests, but it was FREEZING!!! I was wearing my Crossover Warm Ups, Troy’s thermal shirt, and his Jordan Velour Pants and STILL froze all night long!! We had to laugh and just chalked it up to “experience”.

We arrived in the Philippines where we were welcomed by hot and muggy days! We were grateful to be warm!!!

Our contact here was not able to meet with us because he had to go to Guam for a conference and his “back up guy” had a family emergency and had to leave the country at the last minute, so we had more down time than we had expected. My friend Edee is on staff at YWAM Antipolo, so they allowed us to stay at the base and she showed us around town a bit.

This is the view of Manila from the roof of YWAM Antipolo.

Manila is a colorful place. We rode in a Jeepny, which is an old WWII Military SUV, converted into public transportation. These Jeepny’s are everywhere, and function like busses. Each one is decorated according to the owner’s taste. It is truly an experience to take one!! We also rode the sky train to one of the Malls that we visited. We ate our way through Manila trying Cocoa Rice (Philippine Oatmeal), Bibingka (Custard cakes), fruit shakes, whole wheat spaghetti, Philippine Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, Fried Fish and Curried Cauliflower and finally…..Balot (Pronounced Ba-Loot).

If you don’t know what Balot is brace yourself for this. Balot is a chicken or duck egg that is between 16-19 days developed. Yes, there is a formed baby chick in the egg. You crack the egg open and drink the “soup”. Then, you peel the shell, dip it in vinegar and sprinkle salt on it, and then you take a bite. I’m not gonna lie….I was freaking out!! Troy was SUCH a good sport about it!! The staff guys at YWAM were encouraging him to try it, and he did!!! I was so proud of him. He talked me into eating one too. I couldn’t even look at what I was eating I just put it in my mouth and chewed as fast as I could!! After swallowing, they hand you a glass of Coca-Cola to chase it down. Troy liked it so much that he went with the guys to get MORE!!! When they came back, they also had “chocolate chicken” which was cooked chicken blood and grilled chicken intestines. I tried both of those dipped in vinegar, but refused to eat more Balot. I am proud of myself, and Troy for trying them, but I cannot say that I enjoyed any of it!! We videotaped the experience! Benji, one of the staff guys, said “Thank you for embracing our culture”. You’re welcome Benji! Please pass the coke!

China-

The Pagoda and Water pools lit up for Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival.

This is the leg of our “Around the World” adventure that I had anticipated the most. Not only would I get to see my friends Matt, Heather, Jeremy, Jenny, Sarah and Chris, but also I was going to meet Lily….the Chinese Foster Daughter.

Those of you who know me well are aware that I have wanted to adopt a little girl from China for many years. Lily is an orphan and was living with a Chinese family who wanted to adopt her. They were going through the process of adopting her when they discovered that she is HIV positive. In Chinese culture, there are many misconceptions about HIV, and children who are positive are often left to die. Literally. Orphanages will not take them, and many times their only hope is foreign foster families or Chinese families who are willing to risk everything to help them. Lily’s Chinese family had two older sons and if they kept her, the extended family would have cut them off and the sons would not have been allowed to marry etc. So, they made the difficult decision to give her up. Matt and Heather took her in and she has been a delightful addition to their family. The hope is that a loving family, in the United States, will adopt Lily. Adoption would give her more options for medical treatment as well as hope for a productive future. Lily’s story is heartbreaking. She was found at a train station, and her skin was cracked with a lot of sores. They think she was about 1 at the time, and was in very bad shape physically. She often wakes with night terrors. It breaks my heart to think of what she has experienced. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about all that she has already been through in just 3-1/2 short years of life.

Me with Lily

Our time in China was fun. We played with Matt and Heather’s FOUR children and laughed a lot. It was wonderful for me to reconnect with these sweet friends who are like family to me. We had great discussions, fun cultural experiences and a lot of rest. In addition, we were able to meet with some contacts that work with brothers and sisters in university settings. They invited us to come do camps in China. We are excited for that opportunity.

One very cool thing was that we were there at the end of Chinese New Year Celebrations. The last night of the celebrations is the Lantern Festival. Traditionally, the people will light lanterns and release them into the sky. As you may guess, lanterns with candles floating in the sky can be quite dangerous because they start fires. So, the city has banned the tradition, but there are still lanterns hanging everywhere, and they light fireworks THROUGHOUT the city. We went to Mall area where there is a Huge Pagoda and water show. We watched the spectacular water show and then walked back to our friend’s home. Along the way, there were fireworks going off all around us. We literally saw them on the sidewalk, street corners and some in the medians on the street. They were going into the wee hours of the morning. Our friends said, “this is nothing compared to the first night of the New Year celebration”. Holy Cow!! I cannot imagine how chaotic that must be!!!

Fireworks for sale!! They were lining the street corners a few nights before the Lantern Festival.

We walked past these fireworks going off on the sidewalk. There were big ones shooting from it.

It was super fun to experience a little bit of the Chinese customs.

Of course we had to eat some Chinese food! We tried Sweet Potatoes from street vendors, Chinese vegetables from a restaurant across the street and Calrow (Grilled meat and bread with insanely hot spices on them). Calrow tasted good, but after a few bites, you couldn’t taste anymore because your mouth was on fire!! Jeremy thought we were wimps. I guess we are!! J We took pieces of white bread and put them on our tongue between bites to cool it down.